The Best Shotgun Lights for Home Defense and Tactical Shotguns

We think shotgun lights are so important that it should be mandatory for shotgun manufacturers to ship their guns with a light attached. Just kidding (shotguns are used for more than just home defense) but seriously – a good flashlight on your shotgun can make a world of difference in a home defense situation.

There are lots of really good shotgun lights on the market today and we’ll be damned if we haven’t found the best of the best shotgun lights for you in this post.

What to Look for in a Shotgun Light

So what do you look for in a good shotgun light anyway? Is it blinding brightness? Looks? What features make a difference and what features don’t?

Here’s what to look for:

Brightness – if you’re going to point a light attached to your shotgun at someone, it had better be bright so that you can know what you’re up against. We recommend going with something above 500 lumens.

Durability and Reliability – So this light is attached to your SHOTGUN. When your shotgun goes “bang”, this tactical light better not go off. No worries though, all of the shotgun lights on this list are reliable as all get out.

Strobe Flashlight Feature – Just like any good tactical light, look for multiple modes like a strobing flash feature to blind and disorient a potential intruder.

Here’s another thing to remember: most shotgun lights don’t clip onto your barrel. You’ll need a picatinny rail for your shotgun so that you can mount the light on it.

This shotgun light is low cost, bright, and runs off of high-power rechargeable lithium ion batteries. And when I say bright, I mean BRIGHT! This shotgun light is just what you need when something goes bump in the night. Identify your target, and stun them for a few seconds.

It boasts a long battery life, despite low power consumption. The batteries are fairly common now-a-days, and strong. The LED lamp lasts 100,000 hours, or virtually forever. It’s waterproof, shockproof, and easy to operate. And the cost of the light is good on your pocketbook.

Mode switching is a bit gimmicky, as you would expect from a low-cost light, and the pressure switch is a bit stiff. For under $30 bucks though, this thing is not too bad.

Right off the bat, the mount that comes with the Orion tactical flashlight is designed for a rail, not to clip to the barrel of your rifle. That means you either need another piece, or you need a picatinny rail on your shotgun to mount it to. Some fore grips have this option. Other than that, this is a tremendous value.

At 500 lumens, this is a bright light that is capable for the application, and will hold up to the recoil of your shotgun. More than bright enough to stun a midnight intruder. There are lower cost options out there, but this is definitely a solid light. You just need to add a rail to your shotgun or add a clip mount to your flashlight.

Here’s another affordable light that mounts easily between the barrel and the tube magazine on your shotgun. In that position, you do risk touching a hot barrel when you shut if off, but I’ll take a burned finger over the other possibility any day, especially when you need your shotgun to defend your home.

It boasts 1000 lumens, which means it’s super bright. All that power output is going to come at a cost, and that means the batteries will burn up a little faster, but with lithium-ion, you should still get plenty of use from this light.

The Streamlight is one of the best tactical flashlights around, and you are going to pay the price for it, but fans and users say it’s worth every penny.

It comes in several models. You can buy it with a laser (green or red), a strobe, some combination of the two, or the HL version to get the maximum brightness from it.

Streamlight has quickly become a trusted name among flashlight and torch enthusiasts, having a track record better than some more expensive brands. It claims only 800 lumens, but the focused beam has a very high intensity, making this a portable searchlight, visible from a long distance.

It uses CR123A batteries, which are slightly more common than the lithium-ions some other flashlights are using, and slightly safer. If you are a vaper, you can’t use the batteries from your mods in this one.

The price always gets the final definitive word, as we all know that the pocketbook is the real boss, but if you want the best for your shotgun, go with this one. It’s set up for a rail mount, so you will have to find a way to clip it to your barrel also.

We really love Streamlight products here on Gun Laser Guide and this is the best tactical light for shotguns on this list. But if you want a laser and light combo for your shotgun, make sure to check out the Streamlight TLR-4 as well that we reviewed here.

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